It’s 5:30 am and still dark. It’s winter, technically, so the sun hasn’t risen just yet. I say technically because I live in Florida. The only way you know it’s winter are the cold mornings. By afternoon the weather becomes another day of blistering heat.
I stepped out of my home for the walk to work. Actually, I was heading for my ride in to work. A good two mile walk to meet up with a friend. He’s more than happy to pick me up, provided I meet him not too far from his home. I have no complaints. After all, with my primary mode of transportation down I can’t be too choosy on how I get to work. Besides, a good walk never hurt anyone.
I live in a little tucked away trailer park that’s just off the main road. If you didn’t know it was there you would never see it, or know it exists. It goes by the quaint name of Treasure Cove. The only treasure there are the many feral cats wandering across the cratered dirt road that serves the park. As I head for the park entrance I see a few of them dumpster diving. They hear me pass and hesitate on whether to run out of sight or stay where they are. They watch me as I navigate over the many potholes, distance giving them reason to stay and find more morsels to fill their bellies.
I make it to the park entrance and turn right on the paved road fronting the park. Dark as all get out and narrow, the darkness making the road edges seem closer. There are few lights where I live, and those have to fight through the many trees in their way. It’s a short walk to the second street, but I have to be mindful of errant tree branches that have decided to get in the way, just because they can. Besides the crunching of tree bark under foot there’s the unsettling darkness around me as I make myself out to be the next victim of the many movies monsters I’ve seen. But it’s a short walk. I can do this.
The second road is wider and has a sidewalk. It’s still dark, but the width pushes the possible and imagined horrors back a good distance. Down the road is a stopped garbage truck, headlights beaming at me. They’re the whitest lights I’ve ever seen on any vehicle. Maybe LED’s? I don’t know, but they’re bright. Not blinding, possibly because of the distance, but bright enough to make seeing past them impossible. The lights fill the road and create its own kind of darkness. I couldn’t see much of anything because of them. My night vision could have been affected by it, and yet it seemed absurd that lights that bright could light up everything and still keep you in the dark.
With a clank from its rear and a shudder from its front, the garbage truck continued on its slow journey. Once past I was able to see the traffic ahead. Cars were swooshing by as they traveled at 50+ MPH. I would have to walk the shoulder of that road with traffic at my back, in the dark, something I’ve never liked. I lost two brothers and a best friend that way. Senseless deaths, coupled with the necessity for them to do just that. We all have to get to work, it’s a mainstay of life. I pull out my phone and turn the flashlight on. Holding it in my right hand, I make sure to bob it as I walk. People tend to notice a moving light quicker than a static one. This way they’ll see me as I hug the very edge of that shoulder. I’ll make it in one piece again, God willing.
I make it to the roadway and take a deep breath. If something should happen I won’t see it coming. Hopefully it’ll be a quick death, no lingering for me. I watch the cars pass, and then continue my journey.
Arid Testimony 